Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (DSM 9843) and “immune system” (ID 1081), pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006

EFSA Journal 2010; 8(2):1488 [12 pp.]. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1488
  EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies Panel Members Carlo Agostoni, Jean-Louis Bresson, Susan Fairweather-Tait, Albert Flynn, Ines Golly, Hannu Korhonen, Pagona Lagiou, Martinus Løvik, Rosangela Marchelli, Ambroise Martin, Bevan Moseley, Monika Neuhäuser-Berthold, Hildegard Przyrembel, Seppo Salminen, Yolanda Sanz, Sean (J.J.) Strain, Stephan Strobel, Inge Tetens, Daniel Tomé, Hendrik van Loveren and Hans Verhagen. Acknowledgment The Panel wishes to thank for the preparation of this opinion: The members of the Working Group on Claims : Carlo Agostoni, Jean-Louis Bresson, Susan Fairweather-Tait, Albert Flynn, Ines Golly, Marina Heinonen, Hannu Korhonen, Martinus Løvik, Ambroise Martin, Hildegard Przyrembel, Seppo Salminen, Yolanda Sanz, Sean (J.J.) Strain, Inge Tetens, Hendrik van Loveren and Hans Verhagen. The members of the Claims Sub-Working Group on Gut/Immune: Maria Carmen Collado, Miguel Gueimonde, Daisy Jonkers, Martinus Løvik, Bevan Moseley, Maria Saarela, Seppo Salminen, Stephan Strobel, Hania Szajewska and Hendrik van Loveren. Contact nda@efsa.europa.eu
Type: Opinion of the Scientific Committee/Scientific Panel On request from: European Commission Question number: EFSA-Q-2008-1820 Adopted: 15 October 2009 Published: 25 February 2010 Affiliation: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy
Abstract

No abstract available

Summary

Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies was asked to provide a scientific opinion on a list of health claims pursuant to Article 13 of (EC) No Regulation 1924/2006. This opinion addresses the scientific substantiation of health claims in relation to Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (DSM 9843) and immune system. The scientific substantiation is based on the information provided by the Member States in the consolidated list of Article 13 health claims and references that EFSA has received from Member States or directly from stakeholders.

The food constituent that is the subject of the health claim is Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (DSM 9843). The Panel considers that Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (DSM 9843) is sufficiently characterised.

The Panel considers that the claimed effect ‘immune system’ is not sufficiently defined and no further details are given in the proposed wording. The references provided address several effects related to immune system (e.g. gut barrier function, systemic inflammatory response, antibody production) and it is not possible to establish which specific effect is the target for the claim.

The Panel considers that the claimed effect, “immune system”, has not been sufficiently defined.

The Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (DSM 9843) and “immune system”.

Keywords

Lactobacillus plantarum 299 (DSM 9843), immune system, health claims.